If the No. 15 Auburn Tigers are to have any shot of tracking down the No. 8 Kentucky Wildcats to attain regular season bragging rights in the SEC, it’s going to need to extend both its SU and ATS win streaks to three straight in the recent rivalry. John Calipari’s troops dropped a second straight to the Tigers back on February 1 when it let an early second half lead get away before ultimately going on to fall 75-66 and fail to cover the closing 2.5-point college basketball betting odds. This time around, Immanuel Quickley and his Wildcat teammates will be laying a number of possessions in the rematch. Having dropped four of seven on the true SEC road to date (2-5 ATS), online sportsbooks will no doubt be bracing themselves for the heavy influx of Kentucky money certain to come through the pipeline for this crucial conference rematch.
This SEC tussle is set to tip-off on Saturday, February 29, 2020 at 3:45 p.m. ET from the Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY. The game will be broadcast live on CBS.
Odds Analysis
The Tigers have been in a groove since dropping back-to-back road tilts at Mizzou and Georgia. First up was the Tennessee Volunteers who gave Auburn a mighty scare through the first 20 minutes taking an 8-point lead into the break, but it was all Tigers soon after in outscoring them by 15 in the second half to log the 73-66 win and cover as 6-point chalk. Most recently, the team came out on the right side of a 67-58 decision that saw the Tigers sweep the season rivalry from Ole Miss after being taken to overtime in Oxford the first go round. It’s back to the road where the team has struggled to date, but the Tigers did split the two times it went off the board dogged logging a 79-76 win at Arkansas as 1-point underdogs after getting their clocks cleaned in Gainesville by the Florida Gators (69-47).
The Texas A&M Aggies were favored by both the betting public and sharp money when the Wildcats invaded College Station on Tuesday night. Kentucky hit the board as 7-point favorites but closed -6 with every Tom, Dick and Harry holding an Aggies ticket. All the top dog in the SEC went out and did was pull a wire-to-wire job from the opening tip. Aided by another huge game from Quickley while getting next to nothing from Nick Richards, the Wildcats logged the 69-60 win and cover to move to 7-0 SU and 6-1 ATS the seven games played since falling to Auburn at the beginning of February. However, Kentucky was a ludicrous end-game versus Florida away from going 1-5 ATS the last six times it laid points in Rupp Arena. That likely won’t stop moneyline bettors from backing the home team with Kentucky a fluke loss to Evansville away from being undefeated in front of Ashley Judd.
Key Stat
Auburn outrebounded the Wildcats 40-25 in the first meeting and 16-5 on the offensive glass. Those numerous second and third chance scoring opportunities allowed for the Tigers to flip the script in the second half to run away and hide when it mattered most. Austin Wiley went bananas with a team-high 10 caroms and he’s continued to torment SEC opposition on the glass since racking up 17 rebounds against Alabama in the overtime win and another 11 last time out to help lead the Tigers to the win over the Rebels. He must be accounted for this time around! If not, Auburn will put itself in a position to sweep the regular season rivalry and push the win streak to three straight. Another factor in the Tigers win and cover as short home chalk in the first meeting was the fact that it severely took advantage of some major home cooking in getting to the charity stripe 15 more times than the Wildcats. That’s not likely to occur this time around. It’s pretty safe to assume Quickley and Ashton Hagans won’t be fouling out either.
Prediction
Auburn and Kentucky look to be the two best teams in the SEC heading into March Madness betting. Though the Tigers have held the upper hand in the recent rivalry, I have major reservations about them in this spot on national television running up against a Wildcats squad looking like its finally coming into its own. On top of that, Kentucky is seeking same season revenge and is still salty about betting bounced from the Big Dance by the Tigers last season. I hit the Wildcats on the moneyline in the first meeting between these teams, but will instead lay the chalk this time; there’s no way Kentucky let’s Auburn off the hook once again!
College Basketball Pick: Kentucky 80, Auburn 65
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
